Feline How-To Manual: Cooperation - Restraint Procedures and Trimming Claws ~ Pawprints and Purrs, Inc.

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Any health care links located here are NOT to replace a veterinarian visit; please take your cat to a vet immediately at any sign of odd behavior or any symptoms of illness or injury. Call your vet and describe your cat's symptoms with any of your concerns about the cat's well-being. Your veterinarian may discover changes in your cat's health that you have overlooked. It is always better to err on the side of caution.

Cooperation - Restraint Procedures and Trimming Claws

The one trait for which cats are either loved or despised is their aloofness, the attitude of reserve and superiority over all other creatures that cats almost universally exhibit. (For more information regarding people versus cats, see Lore of the Cat.) Kittens are another matter, for they seem to look at life as one never-ending hunt, every movement as a potential prey, and other animals as amusements.

Around five or six months of age, a kitten's view of the world changes, and he becomes more selective about with whom he keeps company. With personalities in mind, anyone wishing to help a cat must first gain his cooperation. The method you use depends on your relationship with the cat, the urgency of the situation, your safety and his, and whether or not you have someone to help you.

Food is a primary motivator for most cats. Many injured strays have been coaxed into trusting by a square meal. Take your time. It could take several weeks or months of regular feeding before he trusts you enough to come into the house or allow you to pick him up. If he's in really bad shape and you don't want to wait too long, you might want to buy, borrow, or rent a humane trap. You should be able to obtain humane traps through an animal shelter or humane organization. Most traps can be purchased between $40 and $75, or rented, and some clinics will let you borrow theirs for free. Hardware stores such as Ace Hardware stores and home repair centers such as Home Depot carry Havahart traps (We, on occasion, use Havahart Pro Cage Trap Model Number 1079). Two other online trap resources are Tru-Catch Traps and Tomahawk Live Trap Co. Or you or the handiman of the family or neighborhood can build your own. PetRescue.com, Inc. has instructions on how to build a silent trap for feral cats with pictures and description included. In order to read the document, you will need to download Adobe Acrobat Reader®, a free program. (This is a very useful program to view and print documents in their original formats.) Consider the local laws pertaining to rabies and feral cats and dogs before you get involved in rescuing any stray, especially if he is acting sick.

Food is probably a motivator for your own cat, too. Time your convalescing cat's treatments to mealtimes. Feed him something he really enjoys. It's important that you provide proper and timely care to insure a rapid recovery and return to normal life.

When you consider restraining a cat, consider the maxim: Less is more. Although most cats object more strongly to being forcibly held down than the actual procedure you wish to accomplish, there are times when a firm hold is required to get the job done and to prevent injury to the cat or the handler.

It is best to do most procedures on something that he's normally not allowed on, such as the kitchen table or bathroom vanity, as this puts him off guard. You'll have more control over the situation if you're working at waist level. Don't examine or treat your cat while he's on his favorite chair; he'll be much less cooperative than if you use the element of surprise to your advantage.

Place him on the table facing away from you, so that he can't back up. Have an assistant scratch behind his ears or under his chin to draw attention away from what you want to look at or do.

Put a rubber kitchen sink liner on whatever surface you're working on to give him something to dig into with his claws. Don't use a bath towel; they slide around too much and lead the cat to panic. Gently but firmly, hold the cat on the table.

Restraint Procedures

Vets and their assistants hold a less than cooperative cat by the loose skin or scruff on the back of his neck. This is how a mother cat restrains and holds her kittens. In some cats, this memory is very strong. Begin by giving your cat a friendly scratch on his forehead. Slide your dominant hand down the back of his neck and grasp as much of the loose skin there as you can between your fingers and palm. Cats tolerate this well, even if they've been restrained repeatedly this way; some cats become completely limp. Scruffing is not painful. If he continues to struggle, give him a very slight shake, a quiver really, to remind him of the displeasure his mother showed to him and his unruly siblings.

Watch out for his back feet reaching forward to scratch. Use your other hand to grasp his back feet, just above the ankle or hock. Place one finger between each paw for a better grip. Then lay him on his side and stretch him out to a comfortable, relaxed length. Support his back with your forearm. This form of restraint permits you to evaluate a good portion of the face and body. Have an assistant treat wounds or administer topical medications or insert a thermometer.

Obese cats don't have much of a scruff because the loose skin over the neck is taken up by stored fat. A frightened cat or muscular tomcat will tighten his shoulders and shorten his neck, which also eliminates the scruff. There are also some cats who will absolutely not tolerate scruffing under any circumstances.

To restrain any of these cats, roll them up in a thick bath towel. Wrap the cat with his front legs straight down and close to his body so that he can't reach forward to scratch.

Or the use of a canvas sack called a "cat bag" fits around the cat's body and leaves the head exposed. It's equipped with strategically placed zipper openings for access to limbs.

Also available is a that hood fits over the face and eyes and leaves an opening for the nose. A hood provides a comfortable darkness and sense of invisibility to the cat. If properly fit, it will function as a muzzle. A hood, however, should be put on for as short a time as possible.

Use the minimum amount of necessary force to get the job done. With some cats, you'll only have one chance and any indecision on your part will give him the advantage and opportunity for escape. Make the restraint procedure as minimally displeasing as possible to insure his continued cooperation in the care giving process. Under no circumstances should you hit your cat. Physical punishment never results in cooperation - only fear and possible aggression. If you're having difficulty getting your cat to cooperate, call your vet. He will demonstrate restraint procedures safely and suggest alternatives.

Trimming Claws

There are several different types of commercial nail clippers for animals. They can be purchased at pet supply stores or at your veterinarian's office. Choose the one you like best. Some nail trimmers have a replaceable blade. Animals don't mind having their nails trimmed as much if the blade is sharp.

Set your cat down securely in the crook of your "off" arm, with the cat either in your lap or on the floor between your knees, depending on the size of your cat and your own size. Pin the cat to your side with your arm and hold one of his paws with your hand (this is sometimes a little much for an "off" arm, you may wish to practice).

With his back away from you, he cannot scratch you, or easily get away. With your "good" hand, hold the clippers. Gently hold the last joint of one toe between your thumb and forefinger. Squeeze the joint and see the claw flex outward. Clip off the sharp tip, avoiding the pink center, called the "quick," which bleeds if the nail is cut too short. Repeat for each claw. If the blade is dull, the end of the nail will appear ragged rather than smooth. If you do cut a claw too short, the bleeding will stop if you apply continuous pressure to the end of the nail for about a minute. Styptic powder (Kwik-Stop) or silver-nitrate applicator sticks act as a chemical cauterization but do cause a burning sensation. A dab of flour or an ice cube held on the end of the nail works just as well.

Check for an extra claw within the web of what would be the equivalent of a human thumb. Because these claws are rudimentary, a cat can't push them out as he can with a fully developed one. When the new nail grows in, the cat can't remove the old one by digging it into wood, cloth, etc. The old nail is instead pushed forward and becomes embedded in the soft web or pad, which is painful and can become infected. This often happens in very old cats who can't take care of themselves. If you trim the nails of an elderly cat's claws, you'll notice that you have to peel away the remnants of the old nail to see a tiny new one beneath it. If you discover an embedded nail, the cat will have pain and a foul odor or discharge from the toe. Have your cat examined and the nails trimmed by your veterinarian. There are a variety of diseases with clinical signs such as these.

How-to Articles in This Series:

Article   1: How to Choose a Vet
Article   2: Hospital Admission of Your Cat
Article   3: Preventive Care: Vaccinations, Serologic Testing, Spaying & Neutering
Article   4: Preventative Care - Dental Care, Flea Control, and Grooming
Article   5: Cooperation - Restraint Procedures and Trimming Claws
Article   6: Keeping Records
Article   7: Care in the Sick Room
Article   8: Keeping Watch - Your Cat's Vital Signs
Article   9: Nutrition for the Cat
Article 10: Feeding the Cat - Including Newborn Kitten Feeding
Article 11: Medications and Prescriptions
Article 12: Basic Nursing 101
Article 13: Managing Bandages and Splints
Article 14: Before and After Surgery and Dentistry
Article 15: Pregnancy and Delivery
Article 16: Euthanasia

Page URL: http://www.sniksnak.com/cathealth/howto5.html

Resource References:
Caring for Your Sick Cat Carol Himsel Daly, DVM and veterinary consultant
Cat Doctor, Mark Evans, B Vet Med MRVCS
Cornell Book of Cats, Cornell Feline Health Center, Cornell University